1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved method of synthesizing cubic boron nitride from hexagonal boron nitride.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cubic boron nitride is second only to diamond in hardness but has a greater chemical stability, and therefore it is becoming increasingly more important as a grinding, polishing and cutting material. A variety of methods have been proposed for producing cubic boron nitride, but the most well-known of these, which is widely used industrially, is a method of converting hexagonal boron nitride to cubic boron nitride under the high-temperature, high-pressure conditions of about 5.5 GPa and 1600.degree. C. in the presence of a solvent (catalyst). The well-known solvents (catalysts) for this method have conventionally been nitrides and boronitrides of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals. Of these, lithium-type solvents (catalysts) have been thoroughly studied, and lithium nitride and lithium boronitride are considered to be particularly effective solvents (catalysts) (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,428).
Nevertheless, use of the above mentioned solvents (catalysts) requires high temperature and high pressure to obtain cubic boron nitride in sufficient yields and therefore the above methods are not satisfactory from the industrial point of view. Also, the cubic boron nitrides obtained by use of said solvents (catalysts) have irregular shapes or nearly sphericical shapes, poor in development of euhedral planes.
It is an object of the present invention, in the light of these circumstances, to provide a method of converting hexagonal boron nitride to cubic boron nitride with a high yield, using temperatures and pressures lower than the prior art.